2007-07-17

Potter, Potter everywhere

Welcome to a joint post from Carlie, Liz, and Melissa! We've all recently seen Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and we're dying to write about it.

Carlie:

Before I write my thoughts on OotP, I want to blatantly self-promote an editorial I wrote that appears in the July 15, 2007 Bergen Record: We're all still wild about Harry. As a Potter fan since 1999 I jumped at the chance to write about Harry, his literary tradition, and why he's drawn so many fans. It was a delight to write and I hope you enjoy reading it. (And of course, comments to the editor of the op-ed page telling him how much you enjoyed the editorial will not go unappreciated.)

Now, on to the movie.

OotP is my favorite book, so I was especially excited, or maybe the better term is nervous, to see how the movie would come out. One of the problems the previous Potter movies have is that they feel like 700-page books squished into 3-hour movies. I don't really blame anyone for this; it's sort of the nature of the fantastic beast. I knew there was no way David Yates, regardless of his talent, could fit that much text into a movie, so I was pleased to see that what he did with it was make not so much a book adaptation as a movie that could stand on its own while hitting all the important points of the book. There are a fair number of deviations from canon, and parts left out, but despite this I thought the storyline was fairly linear and the major themes of the book: betrayal, loneliness (essential to the hero's journey story, of course!), love, and corruption were all treated well.

A quick run-down of some things I loved:

Luna Lovegood. Evanna Lynch's portrayal was sensitive but also pretty "out there," the epitome of all things Luna. I confess to being one of a few people who would much rather have seen Harry fall in love with Luna than with Ginny in HBP. I think Luna knows things about Harry, spiritually speaking, than he knows about himself.

Imelda Staunton should have paid them to play Dolores Umbridge. That woman (Umbridge, not Staunton, who I'm sure is a perfectly lovely person) is pure evil. The viewer can see her spiral out of control both personally and professionally.

The fight in the Ministry atrium between Voldemort and Dumbledore, done entirely in earth, air, water, and fire. We haven't seen magical battle this spectacular yet, which makes sense considering these are two of the most powerful wizards in the world.

Helena Bonham Carter. Helena Bonham Carter. And also? Helena Bonham Carter. After seeing GoF I figured, "Eh, I'll see OotP eventually, maybe a few weeks after it comes out, no rush." Then I heard that Helena Bonham Carter would be playing everyone's favorite insane Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange, and said, "I MUST see this movie on opening weekend." They could not have cast anyone more perfect for the role. I'm upset that they deleted the exchange in the book between Bellatrix and Harry regarding what it takes to cast an Unforgivable Curse, but that's more because I personally have a fascination with the Unforgivable Curses and that part of the book was really earth-shattering for me.

Cutting out the sound so there was silence in the scene where Remus is holding Harry back from going after Sirius when he falls through the arch. The silence, rather than Harry's screams, was extremely powerful and really made the viewer concentrate on what was on the screen. It reminded me of the scene where Boromir is killed in The Fellowship of the Ring. (Or was that when Gandalf fell? Or both?) During the fight in the atrium I think there was a second of silence where Voldemort is gathering his power to cast the fire spell, which then explodes from him, and that reminded me of what happens as Minas Morgul comes to life in The Return of the King.

Finally, Ron gets his due as a friend rather than the comic relief. Harry, Hermione, and Ron function respectively as body, mind, and soul, and while we've had plenty of body and mind in the past four movies we've never seen so much of Ron doing what he does best, which is being their comforter and their heart (despite the teaspoon jab from Hermione).

And what I missed/would like to have seen more of/thought "This is so not canon."

I stood up and cheered when Neville fought alongside his friends in the Department of Mysteries at the end of the book. It was so great to see him stand up for his friends, his parents, and most importantly, himself. Too much of that was missing from the movie.

Percy's break from the Weasley family, one of my favorite moments in OotP because I saw it coming eight miles away, wasn't there. Again, this is probably a personal prejudice. Although I don't necessarily like Percy I do feel very strong sympathy as well as empathy for him. His break from the Weasleys was one of the first moments of the books where we got dimension from a Gryffindor. But maybe that works better in the book.

The way Harry saw Snape's memory of being tormented by James. In the book, Harry steals his view of Snape's memory by falling into Snape's Pensieve. In the book, Snape makes an outright effort to hide that memory for Harry. My brilliant friend Andrea had this to say (paraphrased), about Snape's removing of the memory and putting it in a Pensieve prior to the Occlumency traning sessions: My theater teacher always told me that when in doubt, go for the heart. Snape could have two reasons for hiding that memory. 1: He really didn't want Harry to see his underwear. 2: He really, really didn't want Harry to see what a prat James was. The first answer is the obvious one, but doesn't the second give Snape more dimension, thereby going for the heart?

I've taken up my fair share of space on this topic, I think, so on to Liz and Melissa!

Melissa:

Unlike Carlie, OotP is probably my least-favorite HP. While I can appreciate what Harry's going through, and how he spent the whole year feeling left in the dark, it's a bit wearying to read that for pages and pages and pages. So, I hadn't really been all jazzed up about the movie version.

Happily, I walked out of the movie thinking, "This is the best one yet!" What I loved was that it felt like a movie, not a movie adaptation of a book. It really stood on its own merits, and as such, I think it works better than all the past movies. Kudos to the director and the screenwriter for that!

What I liked:

The visual style. The camera work, the lighting, they all made the different places and scenes have life. I loved the odd angles, the overhead shots, everything.

The flashbacks! It was so great to see, in Harry's dreams and during the Occlumency sessions, moments from the past four movies. I mean, that scene with Harry and the Mirror of Erised, and then Snape stands between his parents--how cool was that? And it works so perfectly for that moment.

Seeing Fred & George leave Hogwarts. It wasn't as flashy as what was in the book, but it was a great sendoff for the twins.

The way the three 'kids' are really starting to act onscreen. Now that they're all getting older, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint are actually being expected to act, and for the most part, they're doing the job. I particularly loved all the little sideways glances that were going on, between Ron and Harry, between Ron and Hermione, between Hermione and Harry.

The duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore. Man oh man, that was cool. It's so funny to think back to the duelling scene in Chamber of Secrets, and realize how fake that was, compared to what happened in OotP.

What I didn't love:

Um, nothing? Seriously, I can't think of anything that annoyed me or pulled me out of the movie. From the first moment, I was sucked in, and that's what I ask for from movies. So OotP has become my favorite movie adaptation, and I know that I'm going to find some time this week to give the book a re-read, something I haven't ever done, because now I'm curious to compare the book to the movie. And really, how often does that happen?

Liz's turn!

A third "thumbs up" from the crew at Pop.

Why I loved it: while I liked the book, and understood why Harry was going thru what he was, I felt that the movie's version of "sulky Harry" was tighter. From the door slamming in Harry's face when he first goes to Sirius's house to Dumbledore not even looking at him, we get into Harry's skin, feel his exclusion and aloneness. In the movie (perhaps because they cut out so much of the housekeeping?) it also seemed that Harry responded to his friends much faster, which worked very well.

From a film making POV, I respect that the film makers picked children who are now the perfect teens for their parts. Neville, particularly – even tho he's gotten taller, he has such a Neville-ish aspect to him. Imagine, picking the right child to fill the shoes of a character five years in the future!

And the adult actors…. Wow, wow, wow.

I also over-read the film. Given this is one of the few film franchises where the moviemakers respect and listen to the author, and the author speaks up, I think what is and is not included are key as to what JKR sees as important to the overall HP story, not just this book. So, Percy and his choices aren't important enough? Yet, James being a bit of a bully is important; but, Lily being nice to Snape isn't. HHmmm…. What does that mean, for the final book?

Finally, the battle. Yes, it's exciting on the page, but in reality, a bunch of people pointing sticks at each other and shouting. The editing, the special effects, the acting, made this as exciting, and as deadly, as a battle with guns.

I loved the film. Also, even though it didn't overtly deal with Percy's break from the family, it was there. Percy was all over that film (most noticeably dragging Harry into Dumbledore's office when they finally catch the DA) it just never gives voice to the fact that was Percy...

I also wonder about the lack of Lily in Snape's worst memory... Lately I've been thinking Snape put it in the Pensieve because he didn't want Harry to see him call Lily a mudblood, but now... who knows?!

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